Dembele hits brace as PSG edge out Saint-Etienne

Ousmane Dembele scored twice in the first half as Paris Saint-Germain beat Saint-Etienne 2-1 on Sunday to sit seven points clear at the top of the Ligue 1 table halfway through the season.

Dembele opened the scoring with an individual effort on 13 minutes and then netted a penalty midway through the first half as PSG threatened to run riot against struggling opponents.

However, a Saint-Etienne side sitting in the relegation play-off place stemmed the tide and managed to pull a goal back through a Zuriko Davitashvili free-kick on 64 minutes.
PSG, who won the French Champions Trophy last weekend against Monaco in Doha, nevertheless held on and have won 13 and lost none of their 17 domestic league outings this season.

They are on course to claim an 11th title in 13 years, with this victory at the Parc des Princes coming in response to nearest challengers Marseille’s 2-1 win away at Rennes on Saturday.

Roberto De Zerbi’s Marseille side look like the only potential rivals for Paris in the second half of the season, with third-placed Monaco now 12 points adrift of the leaders after a 2-2 draw at Nantes on Friday.

– Man City on the horizon –
PSG are building towards a crunch Champions League clash at home to Manchester City on January 22, and coach Luis Enrique rested numerous key players here.

Captain Marquinhos was not involved at all, while Willian Pacho, Warren Zaire-Emery, Joao Neves, Vitinha and Desire Doue all began on the bench.

Instead there was a first start this season in defence for Lucas Hernandez, who has recovered from a knee injury, and 18-year-old prospect Senny Mayulu came into the midfield.

Saint-Etienne were looking to build on a victory at home to Reims last weekend in their first outing under new Norwegian coach